Researchers worldwide have reported on student boredom in schools as well as in higher education contexts. However, little attention has been paid to this aspect of student response in South Africa's classrooms. This quantitative study aimed to determine the boredom levels of a group of first-year students at a South African university of technology in the early stages of a compulsory year-long first-year Applied Communication Skills programme conducted in English, and to investigate possible factors associated with boredom. A closed-ended questionnaire was administered to a random sample of 182 students. Unexpectedly, the results revealed lower levels of boredom in class than had been found in earlier international studies. The male students reported less boredom than the female students, and all the students reported significantly less boredom at tertiary level than they had experienced in secondary school. There was no statistically significant correlation between the students' boredom levels and their home language, or between their boredom levels and their self-reported levels of proficiency in English. Although our study focused just on one subject in a single institution, it suggests that student boredom in South Africa may be less prevalent at tertiary level than previously assumed. Future research could usefully investigate levels of student boredom, and associated factors, across a wider range of classes and higher education institutions.

Large classes are a reality in many tertiary programmes in the South

This article was motivated by the need to academically frame and share the response of the North-West University (NWU) to the perceived increase of academic dishonesty during Covid-19. Within the ambit of the online (hybrid) teaching and learning approach that became dominant during the Covid-19 pandemic, the NWU established a Community of Practice for Academic Integrity (CoPAI) to enhance Academic Integrity (AI) in a holistic manner. By critically discussing the NWU’s response through their CoPAI, the lessons learned, and strategies developed in the process, the NWU can hopefully assist other Higher Education institutes to progressively enhance AI in the future. This is important, because many contextual shifts in teaching and learning approaches, pedagogy, assessment, and the application of technology, that were enforced in an online mode of delivery during the pandemic, will prevail in future.In writing this article, we focused on contextualising the NWU CoPAI within current literature on community of practice (CoP) and Academic integrity (AI) and emphasising the unique strategy and holistic nature of this CoPAI. The establishment of the CoPAI is discussed within the appreciative inquiry as methodological framework. This methodology is commonly used by CoPs, but it is particularly relevant to the CoPAI since CoPAI sought answers to all the AI questions that presented itself due to disruptions in the higher education landscape. The appreciative inquiry method allowed for the opportunity to find some answers in a holistic manner. Some of these answers or insights gained through the activities of CoPAI is further discussed in the latter part of the article. In conclusion, some of the outcomes and shortcomings of CoPAI at the NWU are highlighted.The main finding of this article concluded that the establishment of a CoPAI can enhance AI at HE institutions in a holistic manner. The applicability, relevance, and success of this CoPAI was realised through its holistic approach which included the valorisation of institutional aspects, the engagement and empowerment of lecturers, and the engagement and empowerment of students. This novel and unique approach to promote AI in HE could fill the existing knowledge gap in the South African context, where the establishment of a CoPAI, the application of appreciative inquiry as methodology, and the inclusion of a holistic approach are still absent. It might however also be an example for other HE institutions to follow globally.

Interventions through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (eInterventions), particularly cell phones, are increasingly regarded as feasible alternatives to address older individuals’ access to social and health care and services. Limited documented evidence of older South Africans’ cell phone use inhibits the full relevant operationalizing of eInterventions. This chapter sets out to present baseline evidence of a cohort of older persons’ cell phone use in South Africa. Two questionnaires, iGNiTe and we-DELIVER, were developed to obtain baseline data of older persons’ cell phone use over a period of six years. Reliability and validity of scales measuring latent factors were investigated using criterion sampling to select older South Africans (n = 430) from four communities (Lokaleng, Ikageng, Potchefstroom, and Sharpeville) in two provinces—North West and Gauteng—which represented varying levels of living standards, educational attainment, and household size. Data were analysed using IBM SPSS 26, the jamovi project, and Mplus 8.6. The study population reported high access to and ownership of cell phones, with connectivity obtained primarily on a pay-as-you-go basis. Although these individuals felt that they were competent to use their phones, they preferred older generation (pushbutton) devices. They mainly used the basic features to maintain contact with older and younger people. Moreover, their competence in using cell phones, although limited, was facilitated through the assistance of younger people, highlighting the importance of intergenerational relations. The baseline findings informed principles and suggestions for planning and implementing eInterventions.

No questionnaires to obtain information about older South Africans’ cell phone use were available. This chapter details the development of three new questionnaires for this purpose. The iGNiTe questionnaire (Version 1) addressed the need for information about older persons’ cell phone use and intra/intergenerational relations. Items, in English, were derived from the literature and current research, subsequently translated into Afrikaans, and piloted. Trained student fieldworkers used devices to collect responses from selected older individuals (n = 128). The results of exploratory factor analyses and reliability coefficients then informed the we-DELIVER questionnaire (Version 2) for collecting data on older persons’ cell phone use and service needs. Subject experts’ revisions preceded piloting. Questionnaires were translated from English into Setswana, Sesotho, and isiZulu and administered by student fieldworkers. The results (n = 302) were analysed and literature and theory consulted to develop Version 3, AGeConnect. We present what we believe to be the first online questionnaire (https://ageconnect.questionpro.com/) designed to longitudinally study and document data on older individuals’ cell phone use here and abroad. (Afrikaans, English, Setswana, Sesotho, and isiZulu are five of South Africa’s 11 official languages).